Adding weight to my O/U?

odsixer · May 4, 2009, 04:39 PM

I have an inexpensive Turkish O/U(Yildiz) which weighs 2.8kgs according to the website, took it out for sporting clays the other day and while it seems to shoot pretty well the recoil starts to hammer me after a while.It currently has a hard rubber recoil pad. I'm going to add a limbsaver pad but I'm also thinking of adding some weight to the stock, maybe one of those mercury tubes you can buy at Brownells. Anyone tried this? Thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

btw it's 12ga with 28" barrels.

BigJimP · May 4, 2009, 05:07 PM

I've tried the mercury supressors ( they go inside the stock ) - but honestly if you take a fired and empty hull / fill it with shot / tape it up - you get about the same effect.

Mercury supressors come in different weights - one I tried was 10oz. By itself in the stock - it made the gun "tail heavy" and it changed the handling characteristics - and I didn't like it.

I like my O/U's at about 8 1/2 lbs / and you would be better off if you can put about 8 oz in the stock / about 8 oz in the for-end. Some guns have a little more room than others in the for-end / but melting 8oz of lead and wrapping it in foil is pretty easy ( and moldable ) - and you'll probably find room in the forened for it.

Putting about 8oz in the stock / 8 oz in the forend - keeps the balance between your hands - and doesn't change the swing characteristics. There are some barrel weights that you can hang from your barrels - but I never thought they were very attractive - but Brownells sells some as well.

odsixer · May 4, 2009, 05:21 PM

Thanks, I'll check the forend for room.

Waterengineer · May 4, 2009, 05:29 PM

Yep, like Jim said. The lead roofing flashing you get at a Lowes or Home Depot melts.....realllll eassssyyyy.

zippy13 · May 4, 2009, 05:50 PM

I compete with old school tubed O/Us. For 12-ga events, I clamp on a Kolar barrel weight to compensate for the lack of tubes. Many folks, wanting a little lighter gun, opt for the carrier barrel concept for just a few thousand dollars more than a weight. The recoil is noticeably heaver without the weight. Like BigJimP, I've got a mercury unit in the stock of my auto-loader as well as some weight in the magazine. The heaver gun swings smoothly and recoils less. I, too, am not sure I can tell the difference between the mercury filled and a static weight.

Another option to reduce recoil is to let physics work for you, and have the barrels ported.

oneounceload · May 4, 2009, 06:20 PM

First things first - what load are you using? 3-1/4 dram, 1-1/8 oz loads? Try using light weight low dram equivalent loads.....2-3/4 DE, 1 oz or less....THAT will help with a lot.....

If it is still too much, you can weight to the stock, but make sure you add it to the fore-end area as well, or' you'll make the balance totally out of whack. The other thing to check is fit - if the gun doesn't fit, then it will beat the crap out of you no matter what you do

zippy13 · May 4, 2009, 06:45 PM

Oneounceload is choosing to work the other side of the recoil equation. Remember, force is equal to mass times velocity squared. So, a 10% reduction in velocity will give you a bigger recoil reduction than a 10% reduction in shot mass. This is why slight changes in the "dram equivalent" makes big changes in recoil.

oneounceload · May 4, 2009, 07:05 PM

One thing I've learned over the years Zippy.....Newton was right, and there's nothing to change those laws........

OP - HEAVY gun + LIGHT loads = LESS recoil; simple physics

shoot the lightest weight, lightest recoiling load in the heaviest gun you can and that will equate to easy on the shoulder. Adding a gas function will help in PERCEIVED recoil.....

example - a 9# gun with a 3/4 or 7/8 oz. load at 1150fps should allow you to shoot 300-500 rounds per day.....making it happen in a gas gun, and you'll be playing tennis afterwards.....

Dave McC · May 4, 2009, 08:39 PM

Here's a few ideas on what to do/get for less recoil.

Better pad.

Bigger pad.

Light loads. My 7/8 oz reloads give better scores than 1 oz Gun Clubs or 1 1/8 oz trap loads. Counter-intuitive but true.

Heavier gun. Competition guns start at around 8 lbs for smoother swinging and less kick.

Lead tape like golfers use to add weight to their clubs is often added between the barrels under the forearm.

Kolar and others make weights that attach there or under the bottom barrel forward of the forearm.

As for the mercury reducers, adding weight gives similar results, according to Roster and my own experiences.

There's an old hull filled with shot and crimped heavily in my Beretta stock. It's padded to prevent movement.It adds about 3.5 oz and makes the feel a little quicker.

HTH....

olddrum1 · May 4, 2009, 09:42 PM

My suggestion is to trade it in on an SKB or Browning. I think that you will find out that you can pour the bottom barrel full of mercury and these six pound Turkish guns are still going to kick the CXXp out of a person. Spend the bucks and get something you will be happy shooting.

odsixer · May 5, 2009, 12:01 AM

Thanks for the advice guys, Olddrum that's my plan when I can save enough dough but for now I'm just looking for less of a beating.

olddrum1 · May 5, 2009, 10:10 PM

7/8 oz will be your best bet. I do not know if you get CDNNSports catalog but it can be an interesting read. 1-800-588-9500 and ask for a catalog. For future reference they have some pretty good buys at times when it comes to shotguns.

BigJimP · May 6, 2009, 02:01 PM

Either one will work for you - adding weight to the gun / or shooting lighter loads. If you do the math on recoil:

Shooting lighter loads will help more:
going from 1 1/8 oz at 1200 fps to 1 oz loads - will drop recoil about 15%.
If you drop from 1 oz to 7/8 oz - it will drop it another 20%

Adding 1 lb of weight to the gun will reduce the recoil almost 12%.

If you do some combination of both / add a little weight and shoot some 1 oz loads - I think you'll find its a good compromise ( and the gun will swing smoother with a little more weight on it as well ).

EmptyHull · June 25, 2009, 04:46 AM

What I did was to reload with 3/4 oz of shot. Almost no kick. I can shoot skeet all day and my shoulder dosen't feel it. What I settled on was the CB 0178-12 wad (WAA12L), 3/4 oz shot, Promo or Red Dot 16.5 gr and Fio 616 primers. Actually any std 209 primer will work. If I miss one it wasn't the gun or load, it was me. Crimps with this wad are excellent. Tim

May 4, 2009, 04:39 PM	#1
odsixer Senior Member Join Date: May 17, 2007 Location: great white north Posts: 316	Adding weight to my O/U? I have an inexpensive Turkish O/U(Yildiz) which weighs 2.8kgs according to the website, took it out for sporting clays the other day and while it seems to shoot pretty well the recoil starts to hammer me after a while.It currently has a hard rubber recoil pad. I'm going to add a limbsaver pad but I'm also thinking of adding some weight to the stock, maybe one of those mercury tubes you can buy at Brownells. Anyone tried this? Thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. btw it's 12ga with 28" barrels.

May 4, 2009, 05:07 PM	#2
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	I've tried the mercury supressors ( they go inside the stock ) - but honestly if you take a fired and empty hull / fill it with shot / tape it up - you get about the same effect. Mercury supressors come in different weights - one I tried was 10oz. By itself in the stock - it made the gun "tail heavy" and it changed the handling characteristics - and I didn't like it. I like my O/U's at about 8 1/2 lbs / and you would be better off if you can put about 8 oz in the stock / about 8 oz in the for-end. Some guns have a little more room than others in the for-end / but melting 8oz of lead and wrapping it in foil is pretty easy ( and moldable ) - and you'll probably find room in the forened for it. Putting about 8oz in the stock / 8 oz in the forend - keeps the balance between your hands - and doesn't change the swing characteristics. There are some barrel weights that you can hang from your barrels - but I never thought they were very attractive - but Brownells sells some as well.

May 4, 2009, 05:21 PM	#3
odsixer Senior Member Join Date: May 17, 2007 Location: great white north Posts: 316	Thanks, I'll check the forend for room.

May 4, 2009, 05:29 PM	#4
Waterengineer Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2006 Location: Aurora, CO and Palm Beach, FL Posts: 863	Yep, like Jim said. The lead roofing flashing you get at a Lowes or Home Depot melts.....realllll eassssyyyy.

May 4, 2009, 05:50 PM	#5
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	I compete with old school tubed O/Us. For 12-ga events, I clamp on a Kolar barrel weight to compensate for the lack of tubes. Many folks, wanting a little lighter gun, opt for the carrier barrel concept for just a few thousand dollars more than a weight. The recoil is noticeably heaver without the weight. Like BigJimP, I've got a mercury unit in the stock of my auto-loader as well as some weight in the magazine. The heaver gun swings smoothly and recoils less. I, too, am not sure I can tell the difference between the mercury filled and a static weight. Another option to reduce recoil is to let physics work for you, and have the barrels ported.

May 4, 2009, 06:20 PM	#6
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	First things first - what load are you using? 3-1/4 dram, 1-1/8 oz loads? Try using light weight low dram equivalent loads.....2-3/4 DE, 1 oz or less....THAT will help with a lot..... If it is still too much, you can weight to the stock, but make sure you add it to the fore-end area as well, or' you'll make the balance totally out of whack. The other thing to check is fit - if the gun doesn't fit, then it will beat the crap out of you no matter what you do

May 4, 2009, 06:45 PM	#7
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Oneounceload is choosing to work the other side of the recoil equation. Remember, force is equal to mass times velocity squared. So, a 10% reduction in velocity will give you a bigger recoil reduction than a 10% reduction in shot mass. This is why slight changes in the "dram equivalent" makes big changes in recoil.

May 4, 2009, 07:05 PM	#8
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	One thing I've learned over the years Zippy.....Newton was right, and there's nothing to change those laws........ OP - HEAVY gun + LIGHT loads = LESS recoil; simple physics shoot the lightest weight, lightest recoiling load in the heaviest gun you can and that will equate to easy on the shoulder. Adding a gas function will help in PERCEIVED recoil..... example - a 9# gun with a 3/4 or 7/8 oz. load at 1150fps should allow you to shoot 300-500 rounds per day.....making it happen in a gas gun, and you'll be playing tennis afterwards.....

May 4, 2009, 08:39 PM	#9
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Here's a few ideas on what to do/get for less recoil. Better pad. Bigger pad. Light loads. My 7/8 oz reloads give better scores than 1 oz Gun Clubs or 1 1/8 oz trap loads. Counter-intuitive but true. Heavier gun. Competition guns start at around 8 lbs for smoother swinging and less kick. Lead tape like golfers use to add weight to their clubs is often added between the barrels under the forearm. Kolar and others make weights that attach there or under the bottom barrel forward of the forearm. As for the mercury reducers, adding weight gives similar results, according to Roster and my own experiences. There's an old hull filled with shot and crimped heavily in my Beretta stock. It's padded to prevent movement.It adds about 3.5 oz and makes the feel a little quicker. HTH....

May 4, 2009, 09:42 PM	#10
olddrum1 Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2008 Location: Mid Missouri Posts: 807	My suggestion is to trade it in on an SKB or Browning. I think that you will find out that you can pour the bottom barrel full of mercury and these six pound Turkish guns are still going to kick the CXXp out of a person. Spend the bucks and get something you will be happy shooting.

May 5, 2009, 12:01 AM	#11
odsixer Senior Member Join Date: May 17, 2007 Location: great white north Posts: 316	Thanks for the advice guys, Olddrum that's my plan when I can save enough dough but for now I'm just looking for less of a beating.

May 5, 2009, 10:10 PM	#12
olddrum1 Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2008 Location: Mid Missouri Posts: 807	7/8 oz will be your best bet. I do not know if you get CDNNSports catalog but it can be an interesting read. 1-800-588-9500 and ask for a catalog. For future reference they have some pretty good buys at times when it comes to shotguns.

May 6, 2009, 02:01 PM	#13
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	Either one will work for you - adding weight to the gun / or shooting lighter loads. If you do the math on recoil: Shooting lighter loads will help more: going from 1 1/8 oz at 1200 fps to 1 oz loads - will drop recoil about 15%. If you drop from 1 oz to 7/8 oz - it will drop it another 20% Adding 1 lb of weight to the gun will reduce the recoil almost 12%. If you do some combination of both / add a little weight and shoot some 1 oz loads - I think you'll find its a good compromise ( and the gun will swing smoother with a little more weight on it as well ).

June 25, 2009, 04:46 AM	#14
EmptyHull Senior Member Join Date: March 29, 2009 Posts: 145	What I did was to reload with 3/4 oz of shot. Almost no kick. I can shoot skeet all day and my shoulder dosen't feel it. What I settled on was the CB 0178-12 wad (WAA12L), 3/4 oz shot, Promo or Red Dot 16.5 gr and Fio 616 primers. Actually any std 209 primer will work. If I miss one it wasn't the gun or load, it was me. Crimps with this wad are excellent. Tim